Two Genes Shown to Increase Risk for Suicidal Ideation

Can a simple test predict your risk for suicidal thoughts? A DNA study has identified two genes that increase the risk of suicidal thoughts in patients taking antidepressants by as much as 50 percent.

The study examined the DNA of 120 people with no history of suicidal thoughts who began experiencing thoughts of suicide after taking the antidepressant citalopram (marketed as Celexa™) for 14 weeks. Scientists compared their DNA to DNA from control patients and identified versions of two genes as risky. The first increased patients' likelihood of having suicidal thoughts by 10 percent while the other boosted it to 40 percent. About half of people with both versions of the genes experienced suicidal thoughts and only five percent of people on citalopram who experienced suicidal thoughts had neither gene.

These results may be used in the future to reassure depressed patients who may hesitate to take antidepressants due to past reports linking antidepressant use with suicide. Meanwhile, the potential to use these results to identify people at risk for suicidal ideation is already being embraced. NeuroMark, a Boulder, CO based company has announced that they hope to have Mark-C, a test based on these findings, approved by the FDA within a year.

ABSTRACT: Genetic Markers of Suicidal Ideation Emerging During Citalopram Treatment of Major Depression